Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: U.S.

Some Realities Behind China’s Call for a “De-Americanized World”

Some Realities Behind China’s Call for a “De-Americanized World”

  How serious is China about “the introduction of a new reserve currency to replace the dominant U.S. dollar,” one of its proposed steps for creating the “de-Americanized world” that the official Xinhua news agency called for in the run-up to the denouement-cum-deferral of the U.S. fiscal crisis? American commentators’ responses have ranged from the […]

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Kept in from the cold: The U.S. government shutdown & the Arctic

Kept in from the cold: The U.S. government shutdown & the Arctic

The U.S. federal government shutdown’s dire consequences for research in Antarctica made the front page of The New York Times website today. On October 8, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it was canceling the U.S. Antarctic Research Program for 2013. The program has been placed on caretaker status, meaning that staff will be […]

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The Developing World’s Runaway Energy Train

The Developing World’s Runaway Energy Train

    As the developing world continues its economic expansion, it is predicted to leave the developed world in its dust in regards to increase in energy consumption over the next 25 plus years or so. Dominant forces of China and India will drive the trend, but other developing nations will continue to become major […]

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A Candid Discussion with Muhammad Sahimi

A Candid Discussion with Muhammad Sahimi

In 2012 Iran was one of the key topics in American presidential debates. Its nuclear program and foreign policy subjected the country to harsh U.S.-led international sanctions that have wreaked havoc on the Iranian economy, so far impacting mostly the lives of ordinary Iranians without a change in Iran’s strategic calculus. In March, the country […]

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The Impact of Sanctions on Iranians and Government Policies

The Impact of Sanctions on Iranians and Government Policies

Iran has been a major foreign policy issue for all U.S. administrations over the past three decades. In tonight’s last Presidential debate before the elections, Iran is bound to come up as one of the key foreign policy challenges that needs to be tackled. Will there be a change in the Iranian government’s policies as […]

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U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA’s summer operations underway in the Arctic

U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA’s summer operations underway in the Arctic

In mid-July, the U.S. Coast Guard opened its forward operating location (FOL) for the summer in Barrow, Alaska, where they will remain until October. This year, their mission, entitled Operation Arctic Shield, will focus on operations, outreach, and capability assessment. Since February, the Coast Guard’s 17th District, which oversees Alaska, has been working closely with […]

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The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Asieh Namdar

The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Asieh Namdar

Asieh Namdar is a Senior Writer at CNN’s sister network HLN. She also served as an anchor for CNN International. She joined CNN in 1989 as a video journalist and continued her career to hold many positions, including producing her own segments. As one of the most experienced writers at the network, Asieh has reported […]

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Alaskan Senators Push for Creation of U.S. Arctic Policy

Alaskan Senators Push for Creation of U.S. Arctic Policy

In the U.S., the only Arctic country without a national policy for the region, there are stirrings in the Senate about drafting one. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) co-wrote a letter (PDF) to President Barack Obama, citing the “less than organized fashion” in which Arctic policy-making has proceeded since the signing of […]

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UN Members Must Rise to September’s Rule of Law Challenge

UN Members Must Rise to September’s Rule of Law Challenge

After more than a year of planning, much diplomatic hype, and thousands of attendees, last month’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro produced what one activist called a “failure of epic proportions.” The few agreements—including yet another “universal intergovernmental high level political forum” to talk some more—seemed to fall well short of the challenge […]

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In Letter to President, Leading Experts Call for Recalibration of Policy On Yemen

In Letter to President, Leading Experts Call for Recalibration of Policy On Yemen

27 Leading Experts Say That Current US Policy Does Not Serve Long-Term American Security Interests  WASHINGTON — Twenty-seven leading foreign policy experts have sent a letter to President Obama, calling for a broader approach on US policy towards Yemen that “expands beyond the narrow lens of counterterrorism.” As US intelligence agencies point to the rise […]

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U.S. Northern Command Seeks Semi-Autonomous Arctic ATV

U.S. Northern Command Seeks Semi-Autonomous Arctic ATV

In April, the U.S. Army’s Northern Command released a request for information (RFI) for a semi-autonomous all terrain vehicle dubbed “KODIAK.” The request for information is merely that, as no money has been allocated for the actual development of such a vehicle. KODIAK should be able to withstand temperatures ranging from -50 degrees to 90 […]

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Top Former Military and Intelligence Officials Against “A War of Choice” with Iran

A full-page ad in today’s Washington Post featuring former top U.S. military and intelligence officials urging President Obama to resist the pressure for a war of choice with Iran. The ad, sponsored by National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), comes on the same day that President Obama is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at […]

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Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation holds hearing on icebreakers

Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation holds hearing on icebreakers

The Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, part of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, held a hearing on Thursday, December 1 on U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Arctic. The chief topic of concern was icebreakers. As I reported back in February, the U.S. will be without heavy icebreakers for at least two […]

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APEC and the TPP – The Best Way to Deal with China’s Harmful Trade Policies.

APEC and the TPP – The Best Way to Deal with China’s Harmful Trade Policies.

Last month Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proclaimed, in an article for the Foreign Policy Magazine, ‘America’s Pacific Century’! This week, President Obama will be laying the foundation through a series of multilateral meetings involving Pacific Rim countries. He will start with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Hawaii (Nov 12th-13th), and continue at […]

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WTO Rules on U.S. Trade Remedies Practice of ‘Double Counting'!

Last week’s ruling by the WTO Appellate Body on the U.S. trade remedies regime went mostly unnoticed, due to the dramatic developments in Japan and Libya.  However, its implications could be significant… thought not immediate.  The Appellate Body reversed a previous panel decision which allowed the U.S. government to apply higher tariffs to imports from […]

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